a preacher looks at forty, fifty, and beyond . . .

Precious Relationships

A man came home from work late one night. He walked in the door and his 5-year-old son was waiting for him. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?” The dad sighed and said, “Yeah, what is it?” “How much do you make an hour?” The dad was not happy with the question and snapped back, “That is none of your business! What makes you ask such a silly question?” The little boy’s eyes began to fill with tears, “I just wanted to know.” The dad snapped back, “If you must know, I make about $20 an hour.” Looking up, the boy asked, “May I borrow $10?”

The father was furious. “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some, then you march yourself straight to your room. Think about why you’re being so selfish.” The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

After an hour or so, the man had calmed down and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door. “Are you asleep son?” he asked. “No Daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s that $10 you asked for.” The little boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you Daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man. “Why did you want more money if you already had some?” the father grumbled. “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?”

Gee, I need to hear and remember this story as much and probably more than you . . . I need to remember that what is precious is my relationship with the people around me. So, to you and to me, I say, “Share some time with those who need you. They need our time more than we will ever know.”